Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-09-28

that Dan GulliVer and the three I n
prisoners were on board q boat which yoI
believe to be, and which, in the absence o
evidence to the contrary, We may assum
to be, the Dancing Polly. You had an un
doubted right, as an officer Of his majesty
revenue, 10 board that vessel. Where, II
my opinion, you exceeded your duty wa
in seizing the prisoners; for You have no
DR. we'd that there was Snythipg on board Z
Justify that violent measure. Prove SNUG
Cling; sir, or 1 shall let the prisoners 9
and dismiss the case"
There was a sensation in the court. Tn,
officer looked down abashed. He hat
actually, in his zeal to seize q well know
and notorious smuggler, Omitted the mos
necessary portion Of his case-proof OF tn
e~ontraband carriage. He was actually 81
eager to bring his prisoners to the magis
| trate that he forgot to carry with him hi
lpieees de conviction.
Under the circumstances, therefore, ,
said the Justice, with a great sigh OF relief
II shall dismiss the prisoners, unless yor
can at once produce evidence OF Snug
CLING"
Dan smiled. Will laughed aloud. Jot
and Jephthah nudged each other with theii
elbows, and became solemn beyond what
is natural in young men. Lieut.. Pollard
looked, in iact-if one can say so OF q gal
liant officer who afterward fell fighting the
battles of his cOuntry--!OOlish.
II could send back to Rousdon bay
he said, land cause to be brought kegs
from the cargo of the Dancing Polly"
''Tush, MANI said the justice. "WhC
is to prove that those kegs were there
when you boarded the craft?"
The revenue men looked at each othel
and laughed, glad to fiud that Dan GULL
yer was going to escape. Only the captain
looked disconnected.
"And now" said Mr.. MalloCk, rising
from his judicial throne, I'VE may dismiss
the case. | hope, Pollard, that next time
YOU drag me out of bed in the middle OF
the night, it will be with q better case than
this. Dan CULVER, the next time you &c
fishing in the Dancing Polly, you had bet,
ter ask Capt. Pollard to go with you. And
now | think | shall 90 up stairs and have
my sleep out.
We all thought the case was over anC
| the cause won, when a young fellow, one
of the sixteen, Skirling by name-he VA
a Weymouth man.; no man nearer thai
Weymouth would have willingly testified
against Dan-stepped forward and spoke,
with many stammers and with much hes
itatiOn.
Beg your hOnOr's pardon. | brOacheC
one Of the kegs in the dark. | filled thu
here bottle'-h he held out a fiat bottle
twO-thirds empty--"with John Beer there
everybody looked reproachfully at John
Beer, the cousin of n Lyme barber--"anC
we drank it together .
Swear this man." said the Justice, sit
ting down again.
They gave him the oath, and he repeated
the evidence. The worthy magistrate
tried to cross examine him; but it wa use
less. The presence Of the brandy coulC
not otherwise be accounted for.
Then they called on John Beer, and thai
Young fellow, with bushes and much I'M
Willingness, was fain to confirm the state
| ment.
The Justice of the peace mad no further
opposition.
at must be-" he said, with 4 choke in
his voice. 1T is in the hope, Dan GULL
yer, and you others--JOb Gulliver, Jeph'
than CULVER and William Campion, ali
described as common mariners--that you
will have a speedy deliyerance and quickly
return to your--your farming and the resi-
of it, that | sign this document. The Ia"
il uncertain. Times are hard. Honest
men cannot bespared. All, u terrible mis-
fortune! And ut this juncture too, When
good brandy is almost impossible to be
had and my own cellar, | regret, is EN-
tirely empty"
So they were all committed TO trial ana
bail refused.
Early as IL was the whole pOpulace o
| Lyme was in the streets to express sym
pathy and sorrow, at the departure OF Oar
| CULVER and his sOns-for Dorchester Jail
/ Loud were the lamentations and deep were
the curses which were uttered on the un
known infOrmer who had wrought Thu
evil. They put us in 4 wagon and We
drove OIL, no one refusing to let me go tOC
to Jail and Dorchester, the dreariesi
Journey / ever made in my life, except one
far more sO~rrowful, which was TO come.
There happened, after the Justice haC
granted his warrant, a strange thing anC
one which caused the sides of all Lyme
Regis to shake with laughing. We hearC
the news only two days afterward.
Capt. Pollard, ashamed Of his haste
which was almost the cause Of miscarriage
Of Justice, dispatched his men to seize thu
cargo and then to bring them round Il
| Lyme. Both boat and cargo were tn,
prize of the captOrs.
III, .,,, No. NhaiR Nvp aapnIlnf laIn I
was about 8 o'clock when they got to tn
farm. Here they found Isaac Agus 4
work in the yard and his wife at the dair,
and no Que else about the there. Ua
suspiciously they descended the beech ant
boarded their prize.
The Dancing Polly was empty!
The whole of her cargo was gone, not on
key left; not a single trace OF the brand.
at all; the prize snatched from under thei
very eyes.
The men looked ut each other. 1t hat
been grief to most of them to punish oil
Dan al all; he had ever been a friend to a
who wanted o little spirit; but this laud
able repugnance to perform the more un
grateful portion of their duties was mOdeI
ated by the prospect Of q prize. The Dan
cling Polly az she stood with all her geal
was something, no dOnbt. Add the
there was the brandy.
They looked at each other in doubt
Where was il? Without a word the
turned and climbed the hill to the farm
Here Isaac Agus was plaeidly engage
among the pigs.
He was hard of hearing and slow 4
speech, but at length he was made to con
prehend that unknown persons had bee
at work in the bay since daylight and tina
he was wanted to say who they were.
He knew nothing at the usual time
that is, before daybreak-he had gotte
out of bed, and since then had been bus
in the farm yard. The absence Of Dan an
the boys gave him no concern, because
frequently happened and he was, in b
slow way, amazed to learn that they wei
all then, with the stranger, on their wa
to Dorchester prison.
But he knew nothing. The simple min
! of the old man, his deafness, his slowne:
| Of comprehension, convinced the men thu
he knew nothing. Then they returned
the bay and stood sadly conteH platiu
their empty prize. Sure for certain,
said one, ''folksn laugh at u.s."